Part 2

1,900 years old Roman sculpture of eagle devouring a serpent found in London symbolizing good conquering evil.

August 14, 2014

Good conquering Evil.

I saw an eagle catch a sea snake while swimming 150 feet from Pelindung Beach in Kuantan, Malaysia at around 5:25pm on 12.08.2014.

I was there for a “Gold Mindset Change” coaching training and was enjoying a swim in the South China Sea. My graduate Ivan and I quickly walked to the beach and it was devouring the snake on the beach. I ran to the bungalow to get my camera. By the time I got back some motorbike riding on the beach had scared it away.

This is obviously a very interesting sign. I’ve never seen anything like this except on NatGeo TV. Below is an explanation of the symbolism behind an eagle devouring a serpent. It symbolize the struggle of good (the eagle) against evil (the snake).

Ancient scriptures and religious holy books had always mentioned that in times of great upheaval, chaos, extremism, and darkness there will appear a more powerful positive movement in the form of a great leader, a prophet, a saint, a messenger, an angel, or in other forms – in that particular area or time.
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1,900 years old but so pristine it could have been carved just yesterday: Breathtaking Roman sculpture of eagle devouring a serpent is plucked from the London earth

The 1,900-year-old sculpture was found in the City of London by Museum of London Archaeology experts before a site’s redevelopment into a hotel

It is thought to symbolise good triumphing over evil and archaeologists believe it was the centerpiece of a Roman mausoleum

Reverend Professor Martin Henig, an expert in the field, said that the object is ‘the finest sculpture by a Romano-British artist ever found in London’

Hidden since the Romans ruled Britain, this extraordinary sculpture was perfectly preserved for 1,900 years beneath a busy street.

The carvings on the 26in high eagle are so crisp that when archaeologists unearthed it last month they feared it was a much later copy rather than an original Roman relic.

But experts at the Museum of London Archaeology confirmed that the sculpture from a high-ranking official’s tomb dates from the 1st or 2nd century AD, and is one of only two statues of its type in the world. The other was found in Jordan in 1937.

The sculpture features an eagle grasping a writhing serpent in its beak and is thought to symbolise the struggle of good against evil. It came out of the ground ‘covered in soil and unrecognisable’ in September in the last few hours of an excavation that had lasted several months

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EAGLE

The eagle signifies a force of good in Roman art.

It is also a symbol of Jupiter, chief of the Roman gods, who was one of the most popular of the time

The fact the creature is eating a snake shows it has triumphed over evil and death, Michael Marshall, Roman finds expert at MOLA told MailOnline.

In Roman art eagles are often depicted carrying the souls of Roman emperors to the gods – making the mortal divine.

This makes the newly discovered eagle a suitable subject for a sculpture placed in the mausoleum of a rich Roman Londoner, Mr Marshall added.

Archaeologists also unearthed foundations of a mausoleum on the east London site and believe that the statue, dating from the first or second century AD and made from oolitic limestone from the Cotswolds, once adorned it.

The sculpture was pulled from the site on the Minories, a street in the City of London that is close to the Tower of London.

It came out of the ground ‘covered in soil and unrecognisable’ in September in the last few hours of an excavation that had lasted several months.

It is said to be in such good condition that archaeologists could not believe it is 1,900 years old and were initially hesitant to announce the find until it had been seen by several experts.

The sculpture features an eagle grasping a writhing serpent in its beak and is thought to symbolise the struggle of good (the eagle) against evil (the snake).

It also has details such as the forked tongue of the snake and the individual feathers of the eagle.

The object, which is 65cm tall and 55cm wide, is thought to have been placed in an alcove at the mausoleum, which likely belonged to a wealthy Londoner

The sculpture was discovered in the final hours of a dig at a London building site (pictured) which will be the location of a 16-storey hotel

WAS THE SCULPTURE PAINTED?

Mr Marshall told MailOnline there is currently no evidence to suggest the sculpture was painted, but many statues of the time were.

Experts carefully examine the statue to check for any microscopic flakes of paint that might remain on it.

Paint rarely survives on such statues, but Mr Marshall said that as the item is in such good condition, it is the ‘best bet’ of finding paint flakes if it was indeed painted.

Michael Marshall, finds specialist at Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), told MailOnline there are many candidates to whom the tomb might have belonged as there was an influx of wealthy Romans living in Briton at the time who were officials, merchants and army officers.

The sculpture was probably chosen to please the god Jupiter and depict the triumph of good over death and evil, but it was also a way for wealthy families to show off and commemorate the dead, he said.

The item could also have played a protective role if the person was a member of the ‘cult of Jupiter’ which was incredibly popular at the time, Mr Marshall added.

Such a statue, that depicts the symbol of the god could ‘help ensure the person was safe after death,’ he said.

Images of eagles and serpents are typically Roman and the discovery has helped experts understand what the cemeteries and tombs outside the city walls looked like.

It was already known that a celebrated school of Romano-British sculptors worked in the Cotswolds, but only a few fragments of their work have been previously found.

Reverend Professor Martin Henig, a leading expert in the field, said that the object was ‘the finest sculpture by a Romano-British artist ever found in London and amongst the very best statues surviving from Roman Britain‘.

The sculpture was found on the Minories – a street in the City of London close to the Tower of London and Aldgate Tube station. It was unearthed at a building site that is being prepared for the building of a 16-storey hotel. The find also lies in an area that is thought to be the location of Roman cemeteries, near London’s Roman wall, which is shown on the map

Mr Marshall, added: ‘The eagle is a classically Roman symbol and this new find provides a fascinating new insight into the inhabitants of Roman London and demonstrates their familiarity with the iconography of the wider classical world.

‘Funerary sculpture from the city is very rare and this example, perhaps from inside a mausoleum, is a particularly fine example which will help us to understand how the cemeteries and tombs that lined the roads out of the city were furnished and the beliefs of those buried there.’

MOLA project manager Louise Davies said it was an archaeologist’s dream to find such a beautiful sculpture, adding: ‘The fact that we found it on the last day of the dig was a real bonus.’

The object will go on display for six months at the Museum of London from tomorrow.

The eagle was found near foundations of a Roman mausoleum, (pictured right) where it is thought to have been kept and is a rare example of funerary sculpture that could shed light on how the cemeteries and tombs that lined the roads out of the city were furnished and the beliefs of those buried there. MOLA Conservator Luisa Duarte cleans the sculpture (left)

Caroline McDonald, senior curator of Roman London at the Museum of London, told MailOnline: ‘What I love about this discovery is what it reveals about London 1,900 years ago.

‘Here is a city of around 30,000 people where the mechanics of life are intertwined with the mythical. One Roman Londoner climbs the social ladder and leaves a family rich enough to mark their passing with an extraordinary piece of art.

‘Meanwhile this magnificent eagle protects the deceased, frozen in an eternal struggle to hold evil at bay. It is money and magic captured in stone.

I can’t wait to see it on display at the Museum of London for the public to see.’

Cincinnati Art Museum

Eagles killing snakes were popular subjects in Roman art. Left is a reconstruction of the eagle and serpent sculpture found at Keynsham Roman Villa, Somerset, which is the only other significant fragment of a similar Roman sculpture found in Britain. Right, is a find from Khirbet et Tannur, Jordan, (on show at the Cincinnati Art Museum collection,) which is the nearest comparison to the Minories eagle and serpent sculpture